Book Review: The Art of Ice Age

When I was looking at The Art of Blue Sky Studios, I wondered why there wasn't any dedicated book for the Ice Age films. Well, we finally have one.

This 248-page hardcover features a generous amount of concept art and commentary for all the Ice Age films, up to Ice Age: Collision Course, all arranged chronologically.

Before getting the book, the only key artist I knew who works on the films is Peter de Seve. Now I can see so many other talented artists who have worked behind the scenes and their wonderful artworks.

The artworks are beautiful. Most are character designs with some environment art. There are lots of pencil sketches, digital paintings and the occasional colour script thumbnails. What I really like are the loose caricature style character designs of Peter de Seve. Those were drawn in pencils and they look so lively, animated. Coloured paintings from other artists also look great. The development art on a whole is a joy to look at. The colours and the level of detail or roughness are just right.

The other highlight of the book is the text that delves into the making of each film, including Scrat's short films. They talk about the brainstorming sessions and where ideas come from, design considerations, the characters, and basically the creative process. It's insightful and inspiring to read and find out about what happens behind the scenes. The text is by Tara Bennett, author of many other film and TV companion books. Having good text really adds to the depth of the book.

For those who already have The Art of Blue Sky Studios, while there are some duplication, this is still a very good buy because there is a lot of artwork included.

Overall, it's a fantastic artbook that's well worth the wait and price.

The Art of Ice Age is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy from the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn